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Show REPORT OF. THE COMMl8SIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. 75 I saw Nation, where for a time it was freely sold to whites and Indiaus alike. Some of the complications arising under this opinion of the court were set forth in office report of Augnst 18, 1891, in which the matter was submitted, for iustructions, to the Department with the fol-lowing suggestion : There appears to he hut one conrss to pursue, and that is to instrnot the agent . to s-ise all packages of beer nhipperl into the Indian country and turn them over to the proper United State8 marshal to be libeled, as provided in seation 2140 of the Revised Stabutes. The action in suoh a proceediug wot~ld be of anoh s, ohareoter that the United States oould appeal if the oourt should follow Judge Bryant's deci-aim, as above set forth, and the qoestion oould in this way be hronght to the Supreme Court for frnal determination. This suggestion mas approved, and in letter of August 21,1891, this office mas directed to instruct the agent in acccrdauce therewith,and uu-der date of August 23,1891, Agent Bennett was telegraphed as follows: Referring to your reports of August 14 and 18, 1891, relative to the sale of beer in the Indian Territory, the Secretary of the Iuterior, mder dat,e of August 21, 1891, . , directs me 8s follows: "You are directed toinstrnot the agent of the Union Agenoy, Ind. T.,to seize all peokages of beer shipped into the Iodianoountry, and turn them over to the United States marshal, appointed under the act of Maroh 1,1889, 'An. act to establish s United States aourt in theIndian Territory, and for other pllrpases ('25 State., 785), to he libeled, as provided in section 2140, Revised Statutes." You s1.e so instruoted. I11 pursuance of these instructions Ageut Bennett reports, August 29, 1891, that he has closed twenty-eight beer saloons at Ardmore, I Wpnewood, Purcell, Paul Valley, aud l$srwyn, all in the Chickasaw Nacion, aud seized the beer, together with all the goods, fixtures, build. L, : ings, etc., owned, used, or occupied by the parties engaged in the traffic. Iu order that no question map arise in the future as to the class of liquors prohibited from introduction into the Indian country and sale to the Indiaus, it is my pilrpose at the proper time to resubmit, for transmission to Congress, the proposition for the amendment of the statute which was made to the last Congress, and was fully dQcussed in my last annual report. The administration of the sflairs of the Puyallup Agency., Wash., have beeu of lite somewhat compliaated by the traffie in iutoxicat-ing liquors which has beeu carried on with the Indians of that reser- : I I vation and the attitude assumed by the courts in connection therewith. In a report of January 2,1891, Ageut Eells stated that much druuken-ness existed, and requested authority to expend $50 in detecting and . . bringing to justice the parties who had been. furnishing the whisky, which authority was granted by the Department January lP, 1891, in accordance with the rrcommt~udatiou contained in office report of the , previous day. Under this authority Ageut Eells expended a small sum of money in securing evidence against those parties who had fur-nished the Indians with liquor, aucl in a short time he had over a dozen - parties either committed for trial or bound over to appear; several . , were indicted by the grand jury, and one was brought to trial. At this |
